Egyptian police used tear gas to break up clashes between supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi and local Cairo residents on Tuesday, news agencies have reported.

Earlier in the day religious scholars linked to the Muslim Brotherhood entered the Ministry of Endowments, according to one security official who spoke to AFP news agency, but were ordered out by the police. Clashes then erupted with local residents of the central Cairo district, at which point the police began to use tear gas.

Local residents started to throw stones at the Morsi supporters, after the latter started to damage shop fronts, the AFP reported. Reuters said the Morsi supporters responded by hurling rocks.

Women and children who were on the march were said to have fled in panic.